BILL NUMBER: AJR 54	CHAPTERED  06/02/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   72
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   JUNE 2, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   MAY 30, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 24, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 24, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Alquist
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aroner, Bates, Briggs, Calderon,
Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cunneen,
Dickerson, Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Gallegos, Havice,
Hertzberg, Honda, House, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach,
Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado, Maddox, Maldonado, Margett,
Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano, Olberg, Robert Pacheco, Papan, Pescetti,
Reyes, Romero, Runner, Scott, Shelley, Steinberg, Strickland,
Strom-Martin, Torlakson, Washington, Wayne, Wesson, and Zettel)

                        MARCH 28, 2000

   Assembly Joint Resolution No. 54--Relative to East Timorese
refugees.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 54, Alquist.  East Timorese refugees.
   This measure would request the President and the Congress of the
United States to employ diplomatic and other resources to persuade
the Indonesian government to expedite the return of all East Timorese
refugees in Indonesia who wish to return home.




   WHEREAS, In 1975, after the former Portuguese colony of East Timor
gained its independence, Indonesian forces invaded East Timor and
occupied the country despite the call of the United Nations Security
Council for Indonesia to withdraw its forces; and
   WHEREAS, In 1976 the Indonesian government admitted that 60,000
East Timorese had been killed since the invasion and President
Suharto signed legislation declaring East Timor as Indonesia's 27th
province; and
   WHEREAS, In the 1970's and 1980's, tens of thousands of East
Timorese died of starvation, military bombardment, and executions as
thousands of others suffered malnutrition, sterilization, relocation
in settlement camps, and arrest and torture at the hands of the
Indonesian forces; and
   WHEREAS, Despite continued military attacks on East Timorese
civilians during 1999 and fears of widespread violence against
voters, a heavy turnout at the polls on August 30, 1999, provided
almost an 80 percent vote for the independence of East Timor from
Indonesia; and
   WHEREAS, Within hours of the announcement of the election results
on September 4, 1999, a systematic campaign of terror was launched
against the East Timorese by the Indonesian armed forces and their
allied militias during which three-quarters of the population was
displaced.  In a coordinated manner, the Indonesian military and
militias forced hundreds of thousands of East Timorese at gunpoint to
board trucks, boats, and airplanes for transportation to West Timor
and other parts of Indonesia; and
   WHEREAS, By the end of 1999, United Nations agencies reported that
over 125,000 East Timorese had returned home; however, more than
100,000 East Timorese remain unable to return home, many months after
the announcement of the referendum results and despite repeated
pledges by the Indonesian government to remedy the situation.
Thousands of East Timorese taken to other areas of Indonesia remain
unaccounted for; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully
requests the President and the Congress of the United States to
employ diplomatic and other resources to persuade the Indonesian
government to expedite the return of all East Timorese refugees in
Indonesia who wish to return home; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the
Congress of the United States.
